Wildwood is not deadwood by a long shot

Published: September 26, 2000 12:00 AM

"We want to make every attempt to keep the project in Wayne County," said Gerry Maibach, Wildwood Equestrian Center's vice president of marketing.

First on the list is to "take steps to protect our appeal (option)," Maibach said.

"Wildwood only received a copy of the (Congress Township Zoning Board of Appeals') decision late last week," he said, noting the equestrian center has 30 days to appeal the decision once the written document is received.

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Todd Petersen, legal counsel for Wildwood, is reviewing the documented decision and "will follow the guidelines (for appeal) set down by the county prosecutor," Maibach said.

Wildwood developers hope to make "substantive changes in efforts" to accentuate Wildwood's positives to the public, he said, starting with the fact the center "wants to be a strong partner with the community."

"We recognize that this project represents change," Maibach said, but, he stressed, it also "enriches (the county's) agricultural heritage" and allows it to be passed on to future generations.

"Not enough has been said" about the history of equestrianism and what it symbolizes to the nation as a whole, Maibach said. "It enhances a heritage that we all know is worth protecting."

Maibach believes "scare tactics" were the bottom line of Wildwood's defeat, and Martha Starkey, director of the Wayne County Convention and Visitors' Bureau, agrees.

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As for problems with the water supply, "They pretty much guaranteed it," she said, adding Wildwood had "more to lose" if water quantity was a problem than did an individual homeowner.

Starkey also pointed out Wildwood was willing to follow conditions imposed by the zoning board.

"What more could (citizens) possibly want?" she asked.

"I believe there was a 48-hour period to review those conditions," Maibach said, "but for the most part we were agreeable. With a few minor changes, we were ready to accept those."

Starkey concurred with Maibach about the fear of change in the Congress Township area.

"They think their town is going to be turned upside down," she said. But if they "really looked at the plan," they would "realize how truly beautiful it's going to be."

According to Starkey, a "silent majority" in Congress Township favors the Wildwood development.

Starkey talked to a Congress Township resident who told her, "I'm all for it. Everybody is; everybody I've talked to is for it."

When the conditional zoning permit was denied, Starkey said, "The people behind us were livid."

Out-of-town participants at Wildwood would bring the county "the biggest bang for the buck" -- "money earned somewhere else and spent here."

Maibach argued for the economic benefits Wildwood could bring into the area.

"This project is not about smokestacks and factories," he said. "It's about enrichment and opportunities for learning" and about "participating in and developing a love for horses," from equestrian therapy to "world-class equestrian displays of talent."

"This is a very unique and different opportunity and highlights what's good about Wayne County," including agriculture, Starkey said.

The development will create "hundreds and hundreds of jobs," which she called "some pretty darned interesting jobs."

"(Wildwood) is a gift to Wayne County," she said. "It's not a dead issue."